Vagos Motorcycle Club

March 19, 2011 | By Robert J. Lopez and Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times

The Vagos Motorcycle Club alleges in a lawsuit that Riverside County law enforcement authorities defamed the group and damaged its reputation by falsely linking members to attacks against Hemet police officers. Statements made by officials, including former Riverside County Dist. Atty. Rod Pacheco and Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana, described the group as "cockroaches" and "terrorists" who "practice an extreme brand of violence," the lawsuit states. The comments implicated the Vagos club in the attacks and were made in the wake of Operation Everywhere, a March 2010 law enforcement action targeting 30 alleged members, according to the suit filed Thursday in Riverside County Superior Court.

March 19, 2011 | By Robert J. Lopez and Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times

The Vagos Motorcycle Club alleges in a lawsuit that Riverside County law enforcement authorities defamed the group and damaged its reputation by falsely linking members to attacks against Hemet police officers. Statements made by officials, including former Riverside County Dist. Atty. Rod Pacheco and Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana, described the group as "cockroaches" and "terrorists" who "practice an extreme brand of violence," the lawsuit states. The comments implicated the Vagos club in the attacks and were made in the wake of Operation Everywhere, a March 2010 law enforcement action targeting 30 alleged members, according to the suit filed Thursday in Riverside County Superior Court.

Hawthorne officials are worried that the city may be forced to cover at least part of a $1.95-million settlement with members of the Vagos motorcycle club while two insurance carriers battle over which one should pay. The city last week agreed to the settlement with 70 plaintiffs who claimed in a Superior Court lawsuit that their constitutional rights were violated during several raids conducted by Hawthorne police in 1983. The two insurers are arguing over who is responsible for payment.

More than 750 law enforcement officials conducted sweeps in five counties Thursday, aimed at breaking the back of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, an organization founded in the 1960s that authorities say is tied to dealing drugs and weapons. Twenty-two people were arrested in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and Ventura counties, culminating a three-year investigation aimed at curtailing the operations of the Vagos organization.

More than 750 law enforcement officials conducted sweeps in five counties Thursday, aimed at breaking the back of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, an organization founded in the 1960s that authorities say is tied to dealing drugs and weapons. Twenty-two people were arrested in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and Ventura counties, culminating a three-year investigation aimed at curtailing the operations of the Vagos organization.

Three leaders of the Vagos Motorcycle Club and a female associate pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to narcotics conspiracy charges stemming from a 23-count indictment against 10 members of the Southern California club.

In one of the largest settlements of its type in California, the city of Hawthorne agreed Thursday to pay nearly $2 million to resolve a lawsuit in which members of the Vagos motorcycle club and others claimed they were targets of massive police abuse in the early 1980s.

Claiming their civil rights were violated, members of a motorcycle club filed a lawsuit against an Anaheim bar Monday because the bar has a dress code that prohibits "motorcycle attire." The motorcycle club, Vagos Southern California, and 19 of its members claim in the lawsuit that the Loose Moose Saloon, at 8901 Katella Ave., violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits arbitrary discrimination by a business.

A San Bernardino man has been arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of killing a Lytle Creek man, authorities said. Federal agents took John "Pelone" Loza, 58, into custody about 2 p.m. Thursday after receiving a tip that he was working for a traveling carnival, a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said. Loza is a member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, a group founded in the 1960s that authorities say sells drugs and weapons, according to the department.

State police are investigating the origin of a letter that offers a $25,000 reward for the "death" of Assemblyman Richard Floyd (D-Carson), author of a new state law requiring motorcycle riders to wear safety helmets. The unsigned letter, turned in to police by a Gardena businessman who received it in his mail Friday, bears an insignia of the Vagos motorcycle club, one of many bikers' groups that oppose the helmet law.

Claiming their civil rights were violated, members of a motorcycle club filed a lawsuit against an Anaheim bar Monday because the bar has a dress code that prohibits "motorcycle attire." The motorcycle club, Vagos Southern California, and 19 of its members claim in the lawsuit that the Loose Moose Saloon, at 8901 Katella Ave., violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits arbitrary discrimination by a business.

Hawthorne officials are worried that the city may be forced to cover at least part of a $1.95-million settlement with members of the Vagos motorcycle club while two insurance carriers battle over which one should pay. The city last week agreed to the settlement with 70 plaintiffs who claimed in a Superior Court lawsuit that their constitutional rights were violated during several raids conducted by Hawthorne police in 1983. The two insurers are arguing over who is responsible for payment.

In one of the largest settlements of its type in California, the city of Hawthorne agreed Thursday to pay nearly $2 million to resolve a lawsuit in which members of the Vagos motorcycle club and others claimed they were targets of massive police abuse in the early 1980s.

Three leaders of the Vagos Motorcycle Club and a female associate pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to narcotics conspiracy charges stemming from a 23-count indictment against 10 members of the Southern California club.